Lousy at Self-Promotion

I’m lousy at self-promotion, which is weird because as a copywriter my job is to promote clients.

 

I spend so much time promoting other people’s products or services that I forget to promote my own!

 

That’s nuts!

 

I’m like the auto mechanic who’s car doesn’t run. I know how to fix it, but I just never seem to find the time to do it after I’ve devoted time to helping others fix their promotion problem.

 

I need to just put it on my calendar every week and do it!  Every time I do, I sell books.

 

Because there are lots of people who just haven’t discovered, yet, that I’ve written some really good books. And it’s my fault. Since they’re self-published, no one else is going to promote them for me. It’s all on me!

 

Self-promotion feels icky, though. I became a writer primarily because I had/have a lot to say, but I’m NOT gregarious. I love the quote, “Writing is show business for shy people.” Yeppers! It’s true for me!

 

Oh, I can get up on a stage or stand before a group of people and talk about the stuff that floats my boat,  but that’s because people who are interested in what floats my boat self-select and come see me. I know I’m not wasting anybody’s time when I’m standing on a stage or chatting with a roomful of people.

 

But to get a booth and rock self-promotion? That makes me nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. It just isn’t native to me. And I forget to do it online as part of a social media strategy. I remember about every three or four weeks, when I notice that my book sales are becoming less robust than usual.

 

This morning I remembered again and posted links to seven of my books on Facebook in the various places where they’ll be welcome and not considered spam. I posted to FB pages that are about books and about DeForest Kelley, sci fi, or Star Trek. I should do it more often; every time I do, book sales jump. It isn’t that I don’t know what to do and how to do it, for heaven’s sake; I do it all the time for my clients!

 

Readers’ reviews of my book are always gratifying. Sometimes I even get emails from new readers and uniformly, they all float my boat. They lift my spirits for hours. So, I get ample positive feedback when people discover my books. I just don’t help them discover them as often as I should!

 

That’s on me. I’m 100% responsible.

 

Self-promotion is the part I like least about being an author. I have no problem self-promoting as a copy, content and features writer. That’s where my bread and butter come from. But I’d love to be able to sell more books, because those are my legacy.

 

What I write for other people doesn’t have my name on it. I love the reviews I get for doing great work for others, and I love the work, but none of what I write for clients is listed as mine–my handiwork,  my craft, my creation. I “ghostwrite” those millions of words. And I’m proud of my ability to write them and proud of what they do for my clients. They’re just going to be a hidden part of my writing legacy, not an obvious part.

 

So, I really need to get out there and start self-promoting. It’s lonely being an author when no new people are discovering me on a regular basis. (*sigh*)

 

It’s kinda like, “Hello?! Where are the readers who love what I write about? I know you’re out there! Take a look! Others like what I do. I think you will, too!”